Everett firms owner indicted in federal bid-fraud case

The owner of an Everett aerospace-parts company is among those accused in a federal indictment of paying a former Boeing employee for historical bid and price information so they could win contracts to supply military aircraft parts.

Jeffrey Lavelle of Mukilteo, who founded and owns J.L. Manufacturing in Everett, is charged in the indictment along with Deon E. Anderson, from the St. Louis area; Robert “Bobby” Diaz Jr. of Alta Loma, Calif.; and William P. Boozer of Hacienda Heights, Calif.

The grand jury indictment was made public Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. It charges Anderson and Lavelle with mail fraud and wire fraud, and Diaz and Boozer with fraud.

Anderson is a former procurement officer for the Boeing Co.’s Defense, Space and Security division, which is based in St. Louis. Lavelle and Diaz paid cash to Anderson for the non-public bid-history and pricing information, the indictment says. Anderson allegedly provided the information without Boeing’s knowledge.

According to the indictment, Lavelle used the information from Anderson to prepare and submit about nine different bids to Boeing on behalf of his company. His company was awarded seven purchase orders to supply military aircraft parts to Boeing, totaling more than $2 million. The alleged fraud took place between May 2011 and last April.

Boozer owned Globe Dynamics International of Santa Ana, Calif., which also produced machined parts and assembled complex pieces for Boeing. Boozer submitted bids for about 16 different Boeing contracts, and Globe Dynamics was awarded seven purchase orders totaling more than $1.5 million.

Diaz owned Inland Empire and Associates of Las Vegas, a consultancy for defense manufacturers and parts suppliers. The indictment says he advised Lavelle.

Lavelle and Diaz paid cash to Anderson, the indictment says, at meetings in California or St. Louis, or Diaz would mail money orders from California.

The indictment does not state how much money changed hands between the defendants. But it states that three money orders, each worth $900 to $1,000, were seized from Anderson as well as $10,200 in cash.

Messages left Tuesday with Anderson at his home, and with Lavelle, Diaz and Boozer at their companies, were not immediately returned.

Diaz was arrested Monday and is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Diego, while the other three men are expected to surrender to officials in St. Louis with their attorneys, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis said Tuesday.

“I just got into this trade without a formal business background,” Lavelle says in the video. “High school had a metal shop. It was a great place to fix my dirt bike. Couldn’t afford to really go buy parts all the time. And this led to a job in a machine shop. Twenty-five years or so, it kind of just flies by, and here you are.”